Latest News

Asia / Oceania

(Philippines) -- The Governor of Pampanga, Lilia Pineda, is planning to apply a waste-management technology that could significantly cut waste being thrown into sanitary landfills.

She inspected the “geocycle” technology in barangay Sta. Maria pushed by Holcim Philippines Inc., one of the prominent cement companies in the country.

The governor said that Holcim will pick up plastic materials segregated by the Local Government Unit (LGU) headed by Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales.

“If the process will go on smoothly, we can apply it in other towns of Pampanga,” said Pineda.

Arthur Punzalan, chief of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro), said the province produces “between 500 to 600” tons of garbage daily. He added that at least 50 percent of the wastes generated are plastic materials.

According to recent reports released by the World Bank (WB), the Municipal solid waste (MSW) produced by Philippine cities will go up by 165 percent to 77,776 tons per day from 29,315 tons as a consequence of a projected 47.3-percent hike in urban population by 2025.

The report titled “What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management” estimated that the amount of MSW will rise from the current 1.3-billion tons a year to 2.2 billion tons a year by 2025.

Much of the increase will come from rapidly growing cities in developing countries, the report said.

The WB projected that the annual cost of solid-waste management is projected to rise from the current $205 billion to $375 billion.

Holcim’s “geocycle” is also known as “co-processing.” The waste materials are processed at temperatures ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 degrees Celsius and a residence time of at least 20 minutes.

Holcim’s project would also drastically cut the expenses for waste disposal at the Capas sanitary landfill.

“Co-processing is a safe and secure method of waste management that destroys hazardous components of waste while capturing its energy and mineral content in the production of cement. It also substitutes the use of fossil fuel such as coal; and changes your waste management approach the environment-friendly way,” said Holcim
Cement kiln co-processing recovers the energy and the mineral value of waste materials, and leaves no solid residues or water effluents to dispose of, it said.